1. Field of the invention
This Invention relates, generally, to decorative jewelry. More particularly, it relates to plastic beads having ball and socket connection means.
2. Description of the prior art
A typical bead of the type used to make jewelry items such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, and the like has a socket formed in a first hemisphere thereof and a mating ball formed on a diametrically opposite side thereof. More particularly, the ball is formed on the free end of a truncate, radially-extending neck. Accordingly, it is easy to connect two beads together by inserting the ball of a first bead into the socket of a second bead. That process is continued to build a ring, bracelet, necklace, belt, or the like.
The socket has a cavity for receiving the ball that is slightly larger than the ball. However, the opening of the cavity has a breadth slightly less than the breadth of the ball so that some pressure must be applied to urge the ball through the opening. The opening of the cavity is momentarily enlarged as the ball is pushed into the cavity, but due to the resilience of the flexible and resilient material of which the bead is made (preferably plastic), the opening returns to its initial diameter after the ball has entered the cavity, retaining it therein. The procedure is reversed to disconnect contiguous beads from one another. When a ball is pulled out or pushed into its cavity, a “pop” sound is generated, giving beads of this type their well-known name.
The primary drawback of these beads is that the jewelry items made by connecting them together have a very uniform appearance. Regardless of whether the jewelry item is a bracelet or a necklace, for example, it will contain many pop beads of the same size, all spaced the same distance apart from their contiguous beads.
Another shortcoming is that pop beads cannot be used in conjunction with other types of beads. For example, people also enjoy making jewelry items from strung beads, but that type of bead cannot be used with pop beads. A strung bead has a throughbore formed therein coincident with its diameter, and large numbers of them are strung onto a string to form a bracelet, necklace, or the like when the opposite ends of the string are tied to one another. If the string breaks or becomes untied, the strung beads spill onto the ground or floor and it is a very-time-consuming task to retrieve them. Due to the attractiveness of strung beads, they remain a popular item even with their drawbacks.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improvement in pop beads. The improved beads should allow a person to create jewelry items not restricted to strings of pop beads.
Additionally, there is a need for an improvement in strung beads. A means is needed that would reduce the spillage problem associated with broken or untied strings.
Moreover, it would also be highly advantageous if a means could be found for uniting pop beads and strung beads in the construction of bracelets, necklaces, and the like.
However, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art how the needed improvements could be provided, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made.